Residents in the Ponds Pasture area are cooperating with the St. Kitts Solid Waste Management Corporation (SWMC) in affording sufficient room for the passage of the garbage trucks to collect household waste. In previous reports, the SWMC reported that it was difficult for truck drivers to maneuver the trucks in the narrow roadways because some residents were parking their vehicles onto the road and not on the curb on the sidewalks to allow the trucks to pass. But according to Ms. Inita Lake, the SWMC Collections Manager, after meeting with the residents and visiting door to door in the community, the situation has improved vastly. “We have been getting some positive feedback… Persons are cooperating and complying. It’s not as tedious as before,” Ms. Lake said.

Since the engagement with the residents, there has been only one incident, according to Ms. Lake. “In John Street, there is a person that does a little business selling gas and the overhang of the (zinc top of the shed) was hanging in the road so the truck was having some difficulty passing through. We were trying to get the person to (remove) piece of the (zinc). We had no problem doing it ourselves if needed. She refused to do it so we had to get the police involved and (contact) the gas company who she sells (for). Eventually it was taken care off so it’s much easier now for the truck to be on John Street,” Ms. Lake said.

With the new SWMC garbage trucks, traveling in the community would have been more tedious as the new trucks are longer than the older ones, making the need for cooperation with the residents even greater. Ms. Lake is elated that the situation in Ponds Pasture has improved and is appealing to residents in other communities that have narrow roadways to do the same and cooperate with the SWMC. She gave an example of a similar challenge in the Wades Garden area recently. “One young lady complained that the truck left her garbage but she still in the end admitted that it was her fault because she had her vehicle parked in the area. She even said that the loader would have spoken to her before and she was complaining but that moment she forgot and she didn’t move her vehicle and the truck left her garbage,” Lake disclosed. “The (new trucks) are longer than the normal ones we had before so we are asking persons to really comply, work, move the vehicle out of the way once you know the truck is coming in your area,” the SWMC Collections Manager explained.

The SWMC has frequently requested persons who park their vehicles in front their houses along narrow roadways, to ensure than on garbage pickup days, they remove their vehicles or park in a manner that allow the trucks to pass freely. Failure to do so will result in the inability of the SWMC to collect their garbage or that of neighbors.